


The Burning Man

by shes_writinganddrawing



Series: The Human Torch in MCU [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Invaders (Marvel), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, More characters to be added, Self-Indulgent, superhero stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2020-12-21 13:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21075491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shes_writinganddrawing/pseuds/shes_writinganddrawing
Summary: Jim was trying to quietly re-assimilate into 2011 after disappearing in 1963 when something unexpected occurs, and he finds out he might not be as alone as he thought.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is a self-indulgent fic that draws from the MCU, adding in the Invaders and changing some details about characters and relationships to make it work. Bucky was his comic book age during WWII in this.

It was a warm Tuesday afternoon when the news broke about a strange blond man running through Times Square, SHIELD in quick pursuit. There was some speculation about who the strange man could be. Perhaps a failed lab experiment, or an agent going rogue? Whatever it was, SHIELD did its best to cover up the story. But even SHIELD couldn’t find everything, and it’s hard to erase a picture if it’s on actual film. If the right person asked the right questions, one could reasonably attain a picture of the mystery man for, eh about 40 bucks.

A woman hurried down the street, the disposable camera tucked in her purse. She was on alert, perhaps unreasonably so. After all, what reason had she given SHIELD to put her on their radar? To them, she was another of the faceless masses. Though, she pondered, if this all was what she thought it was, she wouldn’t remain that way for much longer. She let herself into her apartment and set about making the bathroom an impromptu dark room. Among the photos of the seller’s first trip to New York, there was the mystery man, standing in the middle of the street, talking to the man with the eyepatch. She’d gotten lucky, this camera had a clear picture of his face.

She tucked the photo into an envelope and headed out the door.

Jim was having a rough day; nothing had been going right, and to top it off, some SHIELD agent had decided to follow him around. As if he wouldn’t notice. He’d been at this since the war for Christ’s sake; he knew when he was being tailed. She had brown hair, pulled up into a ponytail. Dark sunglasses, easier to hide where she was looking. Average clothing, baseball cap. All in all, not a terrible job, if she wasn’t dealing with a goddamned professional. This wasn’t the first time an agent tried to tail him, but this was the first time he couldn’t figure out why.

The first few had been very official. Dressed in suits with nice shiny shoes. The head one, Coulson was his name, had told him very plainly why they were there. “We need to watch for bad programming, Mr. Hammond,” he had said, adjusting his tie and standing a little taller. “We don’t want a repeat of what happened in the 60’s do we?”

The next batch had been there to make sure he was “assimilating into modern culture properly”. Jim took their meaning to be, “Don’t do anything Torch related you idiot”. This brave new world already had some heroes. Actually, they really only had Howard Stark’s son that he knew of, but you take what you can get. But they had stopped following him weeks ago. This one was different. She seemed on alert, constantly looking over her shoulder and checking her bag. Had there been a threat? Was this kid meant to be his security detail? Or was she meant to subdue him? Sometimes he thought SHIELD forgot he could burst into flames at will.

Either way, he needed to get the reason she was following him. He had better things to do than fret over the latest green agent SHIELD ordered to follow him. He turned down a less populated street and quickly ducked into a store. With a little luck she wouldn’t realize where he’d gone. Jim looked out the storefront as she stopped in the street, looking confused. Very green, then.

“There you are!” he called as he walked out, enjoying the look on her face, “I’ve been looking for you. We should talk.”

“So, why’s SHIELD tailing me now?” Jim asked as they sat down in the park.

She sighed, taking off her hat and glasses. “I’m not with SHIELD, Mr. Hammond.”

“A reporter then?” How would a reporter even have _found _him?

“No!” the girl exclaimed. And she really was just a girl, now that he looked. “I’m uh, an independent researcher?”

Jim ran his hand through his hair. “Listen, kid, I can’t tell you anything about the war you don’t already-”

“I’m not here about the war, Mr. Hammond. Well, not really.” she shook her head, and dug around in her bag, pulling out a manila folder. “Look, I can explain everything ok? You just have to promise to listen.”

“I don’t make promises to people whose names I don’t know.”

“That’s fair.” she held out her hand. “My name’s Rebecca.”

After a pause, he took it. “Alright Miss Rebecca, I promise.”

“Alrighty then,” she began, fiddling with the folder in her hands. “I told you my name’s Rebecca, but my full name is Rebecca Barnes-Proctor. Yes, Barnes. Yes, I’m related to Bucky. That’s kind of where it all starts.

Most of us in the Barnes-Proctor clan know all the stories inside out. Every letter Buck sent back to grandma Becca got saved, then told and retold after his death. We know all the stories of the Invaders. The ones he decided to tell, anyway. So, when a rumor went around that you were reactivated, we – I got interested. Here’s the thing, if you hadn’t made such a big fuss when you woke up, SHIELD would have tried to hide you away more than they already are. After all, “large forest fire” does nothing to hide what’s really going on in some of those pictures. My family tried to make contact, but SHIELD turned us away. They’re still trying, actually. We have some pictures and letters you may want to see, but that’s for a different time.

I investigated SHIELD, and the way they tried to minimize anything about you. Then I was digging into other secrets people say they’ve tried to cover up. The Hulk’s creation, some alien thing in New Mexico not too long ago, and, more recently, something they found in the Arctic. From eyewitness accounts it looked like a World War 2 craft.”

Jim sat frozen, Rebecca starting to get a bit blurry. “Did – did they find a body?”

“I believe so, Mr. Hammond. And it doesn’t stop there. Last Tuesday SHIELD was in pursuit of a running man in Times Square. Any digital pictures have been erased, and most eyewitnesses either paid for silence or made to forget. However, I was able to obtain a disposable camera that had been used at the scene.

Mr. Hammond, _Jim_, I know everyone’s been trying to get you used to this world where everyone and everything you know and love is gone, but what if that wasn’t quite true.” she pulled a picture from the folder and placed it in his hands. “Jim, do you know this man?”

He felt the wetness of tears on his cheeks before he realized he was crying. Memories all came back in a rush, and thousands of questions rolled around his head. All Jim could say was, “_Steve._”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim deals with this new information and Steve is introduced.

“Captain, it is our wish that you re-enter society.” Fury’s authoritative voice had little effect on the man in front of him.

“Wonderful,” he said as he tried to pass, “That happens to be my wish as well.”

“You have to do it in the proper way, Captain.”

Steve crossed his arms. “And what way is that, sir? Staying in a government building being poked at like a lab rat?”

“Captain Rogers, the world outside of this building is stranger than you could possibly imagine.”

“Sir, that’s exactly why I want to see it.” Steve made eye contact. “Why are all of you so intent on stopping me?”

After a few moments where it seemed neither party would back down, someone interrupted. “Y’know, Fury, I don’t see what’s so bad about giving Cap some time out.”

“Agent Barton.” Agent? He didn’t look like an agent, what with a bandage on his face and a faded purple t-shirt. A small twitch of his good eye was the only thing that showed Fury was displeased with his subordinate’s choice of dress. “You know the risks.”

Barton shrugged. “Well yeah. That’s why I’ll go with him.” Steve knew better than to judge books by their covers but this one seemed just a little improbable for what he gathered to be a very official government organization. Even so, this Barton was likely to be his only way out for the moment.

Fury closed his eye and sighed. “I’ll allow it on one condition. No unauthorized intel.”

Barton nodded and gave a mock salute. “Yes sir, of course sir.” He turned to Steve. “Now c’mon Captain. There’s an ice cream shop near here and I’m like 90% sure there’s a bajillion more flavors these days.”

“Barton,” Fury called as they walked for the door, “Remember that Operation Nightlight is still in effect.”

“Will do sir,” he responded as he opened the door.

The outside world was as loud and chaotic as last time. Lights and sounds were everywhere. If Steve was honest, it was more than a little overwhelming. He breathed in and turned to the man next to him. “So, Mr. Barton, ice cream?”

The agent looked at him for a moment before laughing. “Right this way, Cap. Also, it’s Clint.”

“Steve.”

He shook his head as they began walking. “Steve, huh? Just wait til I tell my partner I’m on a first name basis with Captain Rogers. She… actually she’s a spy, she won’t say anything.” Clint kept up a stream of pleasant chatter as they walked to the shop.

After the revelation that Steve may be alive, Jim cried. Then he went home, where he cried again. A few weeks had passed, and he still had to sit down some days and let it out. He had spent so long thinking his friend dead. Howard had searched, but they never found anything. Maybe if Jim hadn’t been so afraid of seeing his friend’s dead body, he could’ve done something, any-

His phone buzzing stopped his train of thought. Most likely it was Rebecca again, reminding him about dinner. She had invited him to meet the family, and they were having a barbeque that night. Jim didn’t know if he was just projecting or not, but she reminded him of Bucky. They had the same smile, the one that said they were going to do something that was guaranteed to bring trouble.

Jim was walking in the city when he saw Steve. At first, he couldn’t believe his eyes, but no, that was him. Had to be. Jim would recognize that man anywhere. Steve hadn’t changed a bit, bless him. He looked a bit confused but so was Jim most of the time. He was so fixated on his friend that he didn’t see the agent walking with Steve until they made brief eye contact. The man glanced at Steve and shook his head.

SHIELD didn’t want him near Steve. He thought that might be the case. Jim was just the Human Torch; Steve was Captain America. You can’t let that propaganda machine loose on the world, people might find out Steve was a human being like any other.

Still, if anyone was going to make Steve feel more at ease it would be Jim. Everyone else from the 40’s was so very old now, and most of them were gone. But Jim? Jim looked exactly the way he always did, and perhaps always would. Something unchanged in this world.

He just wanted to talk to Steve. They were each other’s confidant during the war. They went to each other with things they couldn’t tell the boys, or that Namor wouldn’t understand. Steve would understand how he felt like such a failure, living in a new world his son didn’t get to see. Jim would listen to Steve’s fears, when he finally chose to share them. Steve would be his steady self, with Jim there to help when the soldier cracked. God, Jim really just wanted to _hug_ him, a brother back from the war. His best friend was right there across the street, but Jim couldn’t do anything. SHIELD’s plans above all, he supposed. He’d find a way to see Steve soon, but for now Jim squared his shoulders and kept walking.

Clint suddenly grew quiet a few minutes into the walk. He shook his head, then gestured to the next block. “We’re almost there Steve, it’s just up ahead.”

After getting their ice cream they sat at one of the small tables outside. “So,” Steve began slowly, “Care to tell me about Operation Nightlight?”

Clint shot him a wry smile. “I’m afraid that’s classified, Cap. On a strictly need-to-know basis. And Fury gets to decide when you need to know.”

“And what do you think, Clint?”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, but I think you should, yeah.” he pointed with his spoon. “However! I am under strict orders not to tell you, or let you figure it out.”

Steve’s eyes narrowed. “What could possibly be so bad about it?”

“Oh, it’s nothing _bad, _butFury wants it like this, for whatever reason, and I am bound to obey.”

Steve smiled, letting it go for the time being. “You didn’t seem the type.”

Clint laughed, and raised his arms. “I am a mystery, Captain,” he said in a dramatic voice, “I contain multitudes.”


	3. Chapter 3

Dinner with the Barnes-Proctor family wasn’t quite how Jim expected. Walking up to the house, he could hear dogs barking and kids shouting. When he rang the bell, wine in hand, three small children fought to open the door first. A man had walked after the kids and shooed them away.

“Jim, right? I’m Kyle,” he said, taking the wine, “Grams said that you’d be coming. Come in!” He showed Jim where he could put his jacket and yelled, “Everyone! Jim came!”

“Bring him into the living room!” was the reply.

The room was very homey, with plush furniture and pictures lining the walls. Any occasion was memorialized on the wall, from weddings to graduations to swim meets. On the couch Rebecca sat with an old woman, who greeted him warmly. “I’m glad to finally meet you, Jim. Buck used to promise me I would someday. Come here, sit down!”

“So, you’re the famous sister that Bucky would always talk about.”

The old woman waved her hand. “One of them. Now, you can call me Becky.”

“Jim,” he said, “But you knew that already.”

“I know everything Buck saw fit to tell me.” she turned to her granddaughter. “Speaking of, Rebecca dear, could you get the thing for me? Thank you.” Rebecca returned with a large scrapbook, which her grandmother opened on her lap, searching for something. “Let’s see, where is the, aha! Take a look at this, Jim.”

“This is,” Jim started. It was a letter from Bucky. In it he talked about Jim and Toro, and how he would introduce his sisters to them when the war was over. It was dated to the earlier days, before the boys had been hardened by the war. “He was…”

“I know.” Becky put her hand on his. “Come on now, there’s more.”

After they had ice cream, Steve asked Clint where the nearest craft store was. Back in his assigned room at SHIELD, now with a sketchbook and pencils, the Captain seemed more at ease. Even so, Clint knew he wouldn’t stay with SHIELD much longer. Cap would get restless sooner rather than later. Maybe they could stall him a bit by more outings with agents, but Clint got the feeling Steve would lose them. Still, whatever the Captain did, it wouldn’t be Clint’s problem much longer.

“Barton, report.” Fury’s scowl seemed deeper than usual.

“Well sir, I’m sorry to say that we need to worry about the Captain’s choice of ice cream flavor. He got Everything Bagel. Did you even know they _had_ an Everything Bagel Flavor?”

“Barton,” Oh, Fury’s brows were beginning to knit together.

“Then he asked to get a sketchbook and was I going to be the asshole to tell him no? He’s in awe of Michaels, by the way.”

“Barton!” The director was in rare form today. Normally it would take at least five minutes to get him this upset.

“Oh, and I saw the Torch on our way there.”

“You what?” It was always nice when Clint could catch him off guard.

“The Human Torch? Hammond, James? Ringing any bells sir?”

Fury sat back in his seat. “I’m aware of who he is. Did he try to make contact with the Captain?”

“No sir.”

“Good.”

Clint tilted his head. Hammond had looked so _sad_. “Sir, if I may, why keep them apart? The Torch has been proven to be no threat, and I’m pretty sure all he wants is to be with his friend.”

Fury crossed his arms. “SHIELD has plans for the Captain. The Human Torch would just interfere.”

“What plans, sir?” Fury leveled him with a stare that had broken many lesser men. As it was, the silence gave Clint his answer. “Oh Jesus Christ,” he muttered, “The Avengers Initiative? That’s what this is about? You know Cap would do it either way if there were lives on the line.”

“If he’s in contact with the Torch, Hammond may try and go with him.”

Clint crossed his arms. “And that would be bad because?”

Fury stood up. “The Human Torch is a synthetic being. He can be programmed against us. He has been before. The Torch would be nothing more than a liability. You’re dismissed, Barton.”

Clint frowned as the door closed behind him. He knew that what they did wasn’t pretty or nice, but keeping the two men from the only other person who could give them any measure of real comfort seemed cruel. Still, it was what they were ordered to do.

He stopped in the hall. Maybe there was a way around it, for the time being at least. Cap couldn’t know about the Torch, but Hammond already knew Cap was with SHIELD. With a new plan forming in his mind, Clint left the building.

Jim returned home with a bag full of leftovers. Becky had insisted. “Nothing tastes better than something home-cooked. Even when it’s reheated.”

They had spent a lot of time looking at things Bucky sent her during the war. There had been one picture of the team that she’d given him. Jim was going to get it framed. The family had been lovely, but there was the ever-present thought of Steve in his mind. Bucky was like his little brother, sometimes more like his son. Jim remembered how it felt to lose Toro. It cut him that Steve was going through the same thing, and he couldn’t help.

Before he could put his key in the lock an unfamiliar man opened the door. “Hey honey! You’re home,” he said, pulling a flabbergasted Jim inside. After closing the door, he turned. “Torch. I believe we have a common friend.”

Jim stared for a moment until it clicked. “You’re the agent who was with Steve.”

“Yessir the one and only.” He held out his hand, “You can call me Hawkeye.”

Jim shook it lightly. “Well, agent Hawkeye, what are you doing in my home? If you’re here to tell me to stay away, you don’t have to worry. I won’t go to him until I’m allowed.”

The agent laughed. “That was a bold lie, Torch. We both know you’ll try, and Fury will stop you.”

Jim fought against the urge to clench his jaw. “What are you here for then, agent.”

“Relax, I’m here to propose an under the radar alternative,” Hawkeye gestured at Jim, “If you want to, at least.”

“What sort of alternative?” Jim asked. A part of him wanted to hope, but Jim couldn’t let himself do that yet.

“I’ve got a hunch that since we got along on our little outing, the good Captain will be allowed to remain in contact with me. I leave soon for a different assignment, but that doesn’t mean I can’t let you know how he’s doing.”

“Why would you do that?”

Hawkeye shrugged. “You looked so sad in the street and Cap’s lonely. I’m not the best person in the world, but even I can see neither of you deserve that. So, yeah.”

Jim figured this was the best he was going to get for a while, so he said, “Alright, Agent Hawkeye. You’ve got yourself a deal.”


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a few weeks since Fury had let him out that first time and Steve was restless. Agent Barton, who had become something of a friend to Steve, was still an agent, and couldn’t always be with him. Steve was still allowed off SHIELD property with an agent, but most were too scared to speak to him, or were too professional to say more than a word here and there. Too much time with no one there to truly talk to had given Steve far too much time alone with his thoughts. If it weren’t for the sketchbook, he would have gone crazy.  
He had been drawing Namor when someone knocked on the door to his quarters. “Agent Barton,” he said as he opened the door, “This is a pleasant surprise.”  
“Hey Cap,” the agent said, holding up two bags. “I brought food.”  
“I thought you were off on your new assignment,” Steve said as he took one.   
“That’s not for a few more days. They pushed back deadlines, so I get a bit of a vacation.”  
“Well, come in Agent. And thank you for the food.”  
Clint shook his head as he sat at the table. “It’s Clint, Cap. How many times do I have to say it? Oh! This your sketchbook? Do you mind if I look through at it?”  
Steve hummed. “Not really. Some of the sketches are bad, though. 70 years or so puts someone out of practice I suppose.”  
“The one on top’s pretty good,” Clint said as he took the book, “Bit grumpy though, isn’t he?”  
“Namor always was,” he sighed.  
“What was he like?”  
“He was a hot head,” Steve smiled a bit, “In the beginning Namor hated us. Only fought alongside us because he had bigger beef with the Nazis. Then, some time passed, and he became our friend,” he leaned against the counter, lost in memories, “Namor showed he cared in a different way. He let the boys rile him up because he knew it amused them. He used to sometimes make Jim and I stop working with some excuse or other when he thought we needed rest. Once I gave him chocolate and he loved it so much Jim and I would give ours to him whenever we got it in rations.”  
Clint smiled. “Sounds like you miss him.”  
“I do,” Steve shook his head and took a deep breath, “What happened to him?”  
“The Sub-Mariner?” Clint looked down at the drawing. “He took a bomb and flew it out of harm’s way near the end of the war. Saved a town but was too close when it blew. No remains were found.”  
Steve rubbed his face, then looked up with a somber expression. “What about the other Invaders? What happened to them?”  
“You sure you wanna know Cap? Its-”  
“Yes, I’m sure.”  
Clint leaned back and sighed. “You already know what happened to Bucky. Toro and the Torch were the only ones to make it through the war. Toro was lost in the late 50s on a covert mission way back at the beginning of SHIELD. Not even my clearance is high enough to know about it. Torch,” he paused, chewing at his lip, “Torch was captured a few years after Toro was gone. They reprogrammed him and he attacked a city. He came back to himself during the fight and flew to the desert. He was declared Missing in Action in 1963. I’m sorry, Steve.”  
“Jesus,” was all Steve said, his head in his hands. After a long while he looked up. “Let’s eat, Clint. Food’s getting cold.”

“Yes, I understand that it is on loan to the museum, but it legally belongs to the Barnes Estate,” the man on the phone seemed to be trying to pace a hole into Jim’s floor. “No! No, we do not want to donate it, we would like it back. As the representative of the Barnes family, I…”  
“Uncle Kyle’s still at it?” Rebecca asked, sliding into a chair next to Jim and handing him a mug.  
“Yep.”  
She sighed. “I don’t see what the big deal is about giving us back some of the pictures and letters we loaned to them, it’s ours. Legally.”  
“Well,” Jim started, “The Invaders and Commandos exhibit is a big draw, so I’ve read.”  
She waved her hand. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it all before.” Rebecca looked at where her uncle was still arguing with someone from the museum. “Y’know what’s weird? I understand spy stuff and I know how to dig for information, but people who think that since Uncle Buck was famous and died that we now owe them everything about him? That, I’ll never understand.”  
“It was like that back in the day, too.”  
She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”  
“Bucky and Toro were sent back to America at one point during the war,” Jim explained, “The idea was that they, along with a few other young soldiers, would attack Nazi and Hydra units hiding out in the states whilst the other Invaders, along with the commandos, did the same in Europe.”  
Rebecca frowned, “I think I’ve heard about this.”  
Jim shrugged and took a sip of coffee. “Probably. They produced some “funny pages” that the boys absolutely hated and tried desperately to forget for the rest of the war. They said the creators thought they could use them however they wanted just because they had a bit of fame.”  
“Nothing ever changes.”  
Jim nudged her with his shoulder. “Some things do. Look.”  
“Yes! Thank you,” Kyle pumped the air with his fist. “When can the Barnes Estate expect the package? Yes. Perfect, thank you.” He hung up the phone and sighed, walking over to the table and plopping into a chair. “Y’know, sometimes I regret being a lawyer. Then the family wouldn’t make me do these things.”  
“You volunteered, Uncle Kyle,” Rebecca laughed, “Besides, you like arguing.”  
He shrugged. “True. Is there still coffee in the pot?”  
“So, Jim,” Kyle started as he sat back down, “You’ll get the pictures and letters once the museum sends them back, which should be sometime in the next two weeks. If not, we get to do another very long set of phone calls.”  
“Thank you, Kyle. Truly,” Jim said.  
“It’s no problem, Jim,” he smiled, “You’re family, remember?”  
It felt good to be part of a family again, Jim thought. It was nice to have people to count on. As he, Rebecca, and Kyle drank their coffee, his phone buzzed in his pocket.   
‘He’s moving off SHIELD property’ was the simple text he received from Hawkeye.

After a rather subdued dinner, where Clint could tell Steve was getting caught in his memories, he decided to bring up the real reason Clint had come to visit. “How do you feel about apartment hunting, Steve?”  
He seemed to come back to reality. “What?”  
“Apartment hunting. Looking for a place to live.”  
Steve brightened almost immediately. “Does that mean I’m finally moving into the real world? Do I get to be a real boy with no strings?”  
He snorted. “Yeah Cap, you’re moving,” Clint tilted his head, “Though there won’t be much hunting involved. I think SHIELD has one ready that you can go into.”  
Steve sighed and crossed his arms. “So Fury still wants me under surveillance.”  
“True, but less than here so that’s something, right?”  
Steve hummed noncommittally but seemed to relax all the same. “When?”  
Clint smiled. “In the morning, so I suggest you get packing.”  
He snorted. “Not much to pack.”  
“Well you’ll finally have a home, soldier,” Clint said, suddenly serious, “You can start collecting things now. Fight’s over.”  
Home. Steve wondered what that would mean to him now. After seeing Clint off he flipped through the pages of his sketchbook, at faces he’d never see again. Namor, Toro, Jim, Buck, the commandos, Peggy. He traced the lines of her face, her smile. Sometimes he used to dream of a life after the war with her. He never could imagine his Peggy happy with a white picket fence in the suburbs, she’d work til she couldn’t anymore. Peggy couldn’t ignore the wrongs of the world any more than he could.   
From what he gathered, she had helped found SHIELD, gotten married, had some kids. By all accounts she was happy. Maybe Steve could find a way to be happy too.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of this story! I'm thinking of making it a series with Torch in the MCU and how things change and stay the same. Enjoy!

After moving into his new apartment, (in Manhattan, which rankled the Brooklyn boy in him) Steve fell into something of a routine. He would explore the city during the day, look for a job, pretend to ignore the agents tailing him, pretend to ignore the cameras and listening devices in the apartment, take out his feelings on several unlucky punching bags well into the night until exhaustion overtakes him, rinse, and repeat. It wasn’t the best life, but it was a start.  
He had also begun searching for work, figuring that SHIELD wouldn’t want him mooching off them forever. Maybe he could take up art seriously again. He had studied it after all. It would be a good way to find himself, returning to his roots.   
One night, in the “punch-things-until-tired” portion of his routine, Fury dropped in, which was an especially unpleasant surprise. The man always heralded some form of SHIELD oversight, which aside from Barton, had always been a hassle.   
Well, shit.  
Looked like house hunting would have to wait a few days.

Jim woke to five missed calls from Rebecca. He called her back, blearily saying good morning.   
“You’re an android, right?” she said quickly, “Why do you sleep?”  
“Well, it’s becau-”  
“Never mind it’s not important, have you seen the news?”  
Jim yawned. “No, not yet.”  
There was a shuffling sound from the other side, along with muffled voices. “There’s been an explosion at some SHIELD base in the middle of nowhere. I’ve been sifting through legit news sights as well as some, uh less reputable sources,”  
“Rebecca,” Jim interrupted, “Why did you call me five times about this?”  
Her tone shifted to professionalism. “Right, well, a leak from inside SHIELD says that the director has declared what is essentially a state of emergency. You might expect some increased surveillance.”  
Oh joy. “Is that all?” he asked.  
“No, no it isn’t. Y’see Jim, Jimmy, can I call you Jimmy?” She paused briefly, “Wait. Is your name James? Have you ever gone by James?”  
Jim sighed, looking at the inky darkness outside the window. “Did you sleep?” She didn’t answer. “Rebecca…”  
“Noooo, and I may be on my fifth cup of coffee but it’s only 4:30. Anyway, that’s not the point!” She took a deep breath and turned serious once again, “Y’see Jimmy, I’ve been doing research and keeping tabs on SHIELD goings on for a few years at this point, and there’s certain things that repeat, program or ongoing mission names, that kind of thing. There’s this one that’s been popping up every so often since 2008, gradually becoming more prominent. It comes up after Iron Man’s first appearance, the Hulk, that thing in Arizona, Cap’s defrosting, even when you appeared,” She took a deep breath, “It’s called the Avengers Initiative, and from what I can tell, it’s happening now.”

Steve had most of the group pegged from the first moments he met them all. Coulson was a fan, a little obsessed but nothing Steve hadn’t seen before. Hero worship aside, the man fell into what seemed to be the common SHIELD belief that Steve was somewhat naïve. It was something of an asset, when the people around him thought he didn’t understand what they were talking about.   
Romanoff was a spy, and a very shrewd one. She was pleasant and polite, but Steve could see the way she sized him up when she thought he wasn’t paying much attention. Barton trusted her, talked about her often when he was with Steve, and for the moment that was good enough.   
As for Banner, from what Steve read he was a brilliant scientist. In his file there were testimonies from people around him, to help determine what should be done about the man and his alter ego. His former girlfriend and colleague Betty Ross had nothing but praise for him and his work, along with a healthy dose of sympathy for his condition. Her father, on the other hand, was insane.  
The man himself looked nervous and shy. It was understandable, given his last run in with the US government was them hunting him down.  
“Dr. Banner,” Steve said, holding out his hand, “Word is you can find the cube.”  
“Is that the only word about me?” he asked, shuffling a bit and Steve was pushed back in time to one of his first conversations with the Torch.  
“Word around camp is the two of you are a good team, like Buck and I,” he had said.  
The blond man looked at his feet. “Is that the only word about my boy and I Captain?”  
Steve’s response was the same as it was then. “Only word I care about.”  
He pulled himself out of his brief reverie in time to register the tail end of what Romanoff was saying. “-it’s gonna get hard to breathe.”  
“Is this a submarine?” Steve asked with disbelief.  
“Really,” Banner started, “They want me in an enclosed, pressurized container?” Steve bit back a grin. He liked this one.

Jim had been drinking coffee when the news announced what had happened in Germany. The strange man in green who proclaimed himself above all others was par for the course in this world. After a point, everything is just par for the course. He really hoped they weren’t about to show some gruesome murder of hostages on national television when it happened.  
To say the noise he made was ‘undignified’ would be giving it too much credit. What had really happened was something like this. He cursed, fumbled his coffee, yelled in pain, cursed some more, and groped for his phone. Son of a bitch. They really were bringing Captain America into this weren’t they? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. There he was. And it was him, Jim could tell. It was in the shape of his face, and the way he couldn’t stop being a little shit to a powerful being trying to kill him.  
“Why,” Jim muttered as he dialed the Barnes-Proctor house, “Does everything have to happen before eight in the morning?”  
The newscasters were speculating on a new Captain America taking up the old mantle, and Iron Man’s assist. Jim muted them as someone answered.  
“Jim, is that you?” The Barnes that picked up sounded breathless, “Grams, it’s Jim! Give me one sec,”  
“Jim Hammond,” Becky said sharply as she was handed the phone, “What did we just see on the news?”  
“Uh,” Jim sighed and rubbed his face, “Captain America.”

After the skirmish in the forest, Steve had to endure more time with their prisoner, and it was infuriating. Loki talked like a fascist and it got on Steve’s nerves like nothing else in the modern era. “Humanity was made to be ruled”, he thought they’d done away with that bullshit in the 40’s. Thank god there were people around or he would have bashed the punk’s head in.  
And with Loki apparently came Thor. Thor was a strange case, though he seemed nice enough. The Asgardian spoke with a cadence similar to Namor’s, but with none of the harshness the Submariner always had. It was comforting, in a way, even if he still didn’t trust the, heaven help him, Norse god. This was all making Steve’s head ache.  
To top it off, throughout this whole ordeal he’d seen neither hide nor hair of Barton. No one was mentioning anything about one of their best agents being MIA while his partner worked on one of the biggest crises of the century. And all he had to go on was Romanoff muttering that Loki had captured one of their own, offhandedly.  
He hadn’t made a new friend just to lose this one too. So, Steve pulled Romanoff aside while he was on his way to check on how Banner and Stark were faring with the staff. “I know you’re Barton’s partner, where is he?”  
“He’s been compromised,” She shifted her weight and looked away from Steve for a millisecond, then continued, “He’s under Loki’s control.”  
“Is there any way to undo it?”  
She narrowed her eyes a fraction. “Unclear. We’ve never seen anything like this. Did anything like this happen in your day using the tesseract?”  
Steve hummed. “Not that I know of. They mainly used the cube for weapons-making, I never saw it being used in mind control.”  
“We’ll talk about this later,” she replied, walking onto the bridge.  
“Agent,” She paused, “We’ll get him back.”

After unanswered phone calls to every SHIELD agent unlucky enough to have their number where he could find it, Jim was reaching the end of his rope. He’d called the house again, where Rebecca was desperately trying to find out more about what was going on, but they said they’d call when something came up, so nothing new there.  
He paced, mostly, and started debating the merits of setting something on fire when a knock sounded on the door. A young blonde woman stood on the other side holding a box. She was in nondescript clothes, with a baseball cap on her head. How original. “Why don’t you come inside, agent?”  
She smirked. “Thank you, Mr. Hammond,” she said as she passed him, “Got any coffee?”  
“Oh, oodles of it, Agent.”

Tony was like his father in all of the worst possible ways. Cocky, arrogant, self-obsessed the list could go on really. He had something against Steve in particular even though they had never met before. Tony was trying to rile him up, calling him capsicle and poking fun at him being excited to actually know what someone’s talking about for once.  
Then they found out SHIELD was creating weapons with the cube. Did everyone just forget what happened in the 40’s? Did they? Oh, and then there was Tony again, “genius, billionaire” asshole. Everything special about Steve came from a bottle? Fine, everything special about him came from Daddy’s money. There is nothing so infuriating as this man-  
Banner was talking. And oh, they hadn’t told Steve any of that. And oh, that’s where all this was coming from.  
“Dr. Banner,” he said, softer now, “Put down the scepter.”  
All seemed calm, for a minute. Then everything went to shit.

“Would you like some sugar, Agent…”  
“19,” she smiled over the mug, “No sugar, thank you. I’m sweet enough on my own.”  
Jim hummed. “Your mother must’ve been an interesting woman, Agent 19,” he said as he sat down, “To give you a name like that.”  
She laughed. “I’m on duty. Ask me later, hot stuff.”  
“Speaking of,” he crossed his arms, “What business does SHIELD have with me today? I haven’t done anything to warrant an agent at my door.”  
“I’m sure you’ve seen the news,” Agent 19 said, sitting up straighter.  
“Germany?”  
“Germany. The horned man you saw is Loki, he’s an alien from Asgard.”  
Jim snorted. “Loki? Asgard? Am I actually supposed to believe that?”  
“I know how it sounds Mr. Hammond,” he said, “but I am very serious. He’s quite the threat. He uses some form of mind controlling device contained within his scepter. Now, SHIELD has both him and the weapon in custody, but there’s always a chance of something going wrong, so we like to cover all of our bases.”  
His eyes narrowed. “So you’re here to make sure I don’t turn traitor.”  
“Not at all, we believe-”   
Jim’s phone rang. “Hello?”  
“Jim?” Rebecca said franticly, “Oh my- there’s been a development. Oh Lordy, okay.”  
“What sort of development?” Jim asked, “What’s happened?”  
She let out a bitter laugh. “What hasn’t happened. There’s a smoking helecarrier over New Jersey that wasn’t there this morning, that ejected a suspiciously Hulk sized piece of debris that some people saw over a highway. There was another thing falling, someone said it was a big glass container, I don’t know. Stark’s flying back to his tower, too which normally wouldn’t be weird but a lot’s happening and-”  
“Breathe Rebecca,” he let his voice take on the tone he used whenever Toro had a nightmare, “It’ll be ok. Thank you for the update. I’ll call you back later sweetheart.”  
She breathed shakily into the receiver. “Okay, okay. Promise you won’t do anything stupid?”  
“I promise.” Liar.   
Agent 19 piped up after they’d hung up. She picked up the box she brought with her and put it on the table. “I was asked to bring this to you when a fight seemed inevitable. It is now. Use this well.” She walked out towards the front door, calling, “And thanks for the coffee, hot stuff!”  
Inside the box he found familiar orange and red fabric. Agent 19 was right; a fight was inevitable. And damn the Human Torch if he wasn’t going to be a part of it.

This feels familiar, Steve thought after he’d given instruction to the authorities and his team. Well, he amended in his mind as he bashed an alien’s head in, not too familiar. Last time he was giving orders on the battlefield, the opponents had been men (mostly, there were the vampires). But, they were working well together. This was working.  
“Cap,” Barton’s gleeful voice rang through the comms, “There’s something you’re gonna want to see. Look up.”  
Steve finished off the alien he was fighting and obeyed. A column of fire flew over the street, taking out every flying ship in its way. It then turned and rained fire on the ground, taking out an alien about to get the drop on Steve.  
He froze. (ha) It couldn’t be, right? The Human Torch was dead, or he was supposed to be. Then again, so was Steve. Who else flies around as a column of flame? A spark of hope burned in his chest and he let himself bask in it just for a moment. Then Romanoff asked for a boost, and he was focused on the battle again. There would be time for this later.  
Later came, and Steve found himself pacing in front of the broken windows of Stark Tower. He kept scanning the sky, searching for the familiar blur of orange and yellow streak across the sky.   
“Got something on your mind Rogers?” Tony asked from the bar, “Come on, take a load off, have a drink.”  
Steve’s mouth quirked up, and he turned. “Alcohol doesn’t work on me.”  
Tony hummed. “Y’know maybe I can-”  
“Asgard has mead enough to free your spirits, Captain,” Thor called from beside the now unconscious Loki (note to self, never anger the Hulk), “Once, I drank enough of it that I thought I could tame a bildshnipe! I fell into a ditch and Sif had to fish me out come dawn. Loki was beside me that day,” he trailed off thoughtfully.  
“I, for one, would love to try the magic alcohol,” Clint yelled from where he had plastered himself against Romanoff’s side. Banner jerked briefly at the noise, before settling back against the wall  
Romanoff scoffed as she cleaned her gun. “Asgardian alcohol would kill you, Barton.”  
He closed his eyes, pondering it. “Think of the benefits, how wasted you could get from just a sip-” Romanoff elbowed him, staring out the window, “Tasha why?”  
Steve turned slowly, staring at the flaming man as he entered the room. He went out, and Steve found himself looking into a familiar face. The Human Torch, James-fucking-Hammond. Jim looked good, for a dead man, though Steve supposed he couldn’t talk. He stood silent and awkward, running a nervous hand through his hair.   
“Steve,” he started, “I-”  
Steve didn’t let him continue. He crossed to the window in two strides and enveloped him in a tight hug. Oh. Oh, yeah, that’s what affection felt like. Jim clung to Steve and muttered apologies. It was nice to be held by someone, it had been a long time since there was anyone who would.   
Tony cleared his throat, and Steve pulled out of the hug. “Everyone,” he said, voice only wavering a little, “This is Jim Hammond, the Human Torch.”  
“Hiya Torch, how’s the family?” Clint said, winking when Steve threw a sharp look his way.  
Steve whipped his head back to Jim, who shrugged. “They’re fine, thank you Hawkeye.”  
“Wait,” Steve said, “Family?”  
He grinned. “Not quite mine. Bucky’s. They… adopted me I suppose. They’ll do the same for you, Rebecca’s been trying to contact you since you ran into Times Square.”  
Steve stared at his friend as the Avengers, though mainly Tony, started rattling off questions to Jim, and inviting him to shawarma. (If you eat. Do you?) He knew, in that moment, that he was not alone, and maybe being a “man out of time” wouldn’t be so bad with a brother by his side.


End file.
